093_HB1523
LRB093 08044 DRH 08245 b
1 AN ACT in relation to vehicles.
2 Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
3 represented in the General Assembly:
4 Section 5. The Illinois Vehicle Code is amended by
5 changing Section 6-106.1 as follows:
6 (625 ILCS 5/6-106.1) (from Ch. 95 1/2, par. 6-106.1)
7 Sec. 6-106.1. School bus driver permit.
8 (a) The Secretary of State shall issue a school bus
9 driver permit to those applicants who have met all the
10 requirements of the application and screening process under
11 this Section to insure the welfare and safety of children who
12 are transported on school buses throughout the State of
13 Illinois. Applicants shall obtain the proper application
14 required by the Secretary of State from their prospective or
15 current employer and submit the completed application to the
16 prospective or current employer along with the necessary
17 fingerprint submission as required by the Department of State
18 Police to conduct fingerprint based criminal background
19 checks on current and future information available in the
20 state system and current information available through the
21 Federal Bureau of Investigation's system. Applicants who
22 have completed the fingerprinting requirements shall not be
23 subjected to the fingerprinting process when applying for
24 subsequent permits or submitting proof of successful
25 completion of the annual refresher course. Individuals who
26 on the effective date of this Act possess a valid school bus
27 driver permit that has been previously issued by the
28 appropriate Regional School Superintendent are not subject to
29 the fingerprinting provisions of this Section as long as the
30 permit remains valid and does not lapse. The applicant shall
31 be required to pay all related application and fingerprinting
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1 fees as established by rule including, but not limited to,
2 the amounts established by the Department of State Police and
3 the Federal Bureau of Investigation to process fingerprint
4 based criminal background investigations. All fees paid for
5 fingerprint processing services under this Section shall be
6 deposited into the State Police Services Fund for the cost
7 incurred in processing the fingerprint based criminal
8 background investigations. All other fees paid under this
9 Section shall be deposited into the Road Fund for the purpose
10 of defraying the costs of the Secretary of State in
11 administering this Section. All applicants must:
12 1. be 21 years of age or older;
13 2. possess a valid and properly classified driver's
14 license issued by the Secretary of State;
15 3. possess a valid driver's license, which has not
16 been revoked, suspended, or canceled for 3 years
17 immediately prior to the date of application, or have not
18 had his or her commercial motor vehicle driving
19 privileges disqualified within the 3 years immediately
20 prior to the date of application;
21 4. successfully pass a written test, administered
22 by the Secretary of State, on school bus operation,
23 school bus safety, and special traffic laws relating to
24 school buses and submit to a review of the applicant's
25 driving habits by the Secretary of State at the time the
26 written test is given;
27 5. demonstrate ability to exercise reasonable care
28 in the operation of school buses in accordance with rules
29 promulgated by the Secretary of State;
30 6. demonstrate physical fitness to operate school
31 buses by submitting the results of a medical examination,
32 including tests for drug use for each applicant not
33 subject to such testing pursuant to federal law,
34 conducted by a licensed physician, an advanced practice
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1 nurse who has a written collaborative agreement with a
2 collaborating physician which authorizes him or her to
3 perform medical examinations, or a physician assistant
4 who has been delegated the performance of medical
5 examinations by his or her supervising physician within
6 90 days of the date of application according to standards
7 promulgated by the Secretary of State;
8 7. affirm under penalties of perjury that he or she
9 has not made a false statement or knowingly concealed a
10 material fact in any application for permit;
11 8. have completed an initial classroom course,
12 including first aid procedures, in school bus driver
13 safety as promulgated by the Secretary of State; and
14 after satisfactory completion of said initial course an
15 annual refresher course which shall include, in the first
16 year and every third succeeding year, certification of
17 proficiency in First Aid and, in the first year and every
18 succeeding year, cardiopulmonary resuscitation according
19 to the standards of the American Red Cross, American
20 Heart Association or other nationally recognized
21 certifying agency; such courses and the agency or
22 organization conducting such courses shall be approved by
23 the Secretary of State; failure to complete the annual
24 refresher course, shall result in cancellation of the
25 permit until such course is completed;
26 9. not have been convicted of 2 or more serious
27 traffic offenses, as defined by rule, within one year
28 prior to the date of application that may endanger the
29 life or safety of any of the driver's passengers within
30 the duration of the permit period;
31 10. not have been convicted of reckless driving,
32 driving while intoxicated, or reckless homicide resulting
33 from the operation of a motor vehicle within 3 years of
34 the date of application;
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1 11. not have been convicted of committing or
2 attempting to commit any one or more of the following
3 offenses: (i) those offenses defined in Sections 9-1,
4 9-1.2, 9-2, 9-2.1, 9-3, 9-3.2, 9-3.3, 10-1, 10-2, 10-3.1,
5 10-4, 10-5, 10-6, 10-7, 11-6, 11-9, 11-9.1, 11-14, 11-15,
6 11-15.1, 11-16, 11-17, 11-18, 11-19, 11-19.1, 11-19.2,
7 11-20, 11-20.1, 11-21, 11-22, 12-3.1, 12-4.1, 12-4.2,
8 12-4.3, 12-4.4, 12-4.5, 12-6, 12-6.2, 12-7.1, 12-7.3,
9 12-7.4, 12-11, 12-13, 12-14, 12-14.1, 12-15, 12-16,
10 12-16.2, 12-21.5, 12-21.6, 12-33, 18-1, 18-2, 18-3, 18-4,
11 18-5, 20-1, 20-1.1, 20-2, 24-1, 24-1.1, 24-1.2, 24-3.3,
12 31A-1, 31A-1.1, and 33A-2, and in subsection (a) and
13 subsection (b), clause (1), of Section 12-4 of the
14 Criminal Code of 1961; (ii) those offenses defined in the
15 Cannabis Control Act except those offenses defined in
16 subsections (a) and (b) of Section 4, and subsection (a)
17 of Section 5 of the Cannabis Control Act; (iii) those
18 offenses defined in the Illinois Controlled Substances
19 Act; (iv) any offense committed or attempted in any other
20 state or against the laws of the United States, which if
21 committed or attempted in this State would be punishable
22 as one or more of the foregoing offenses; (v) the
23 offenses defined in Section 4.1 and 5.1 of the Wrongs to
24 Children Act and (vi) those offenses defined in Section
25 6-16 of the Liquor Control Act of 1934;
26 12. not have been repeatedly involved as a driver
27 in motor vehicle collisions or been repeatedly convicted
28 of offenses against laws and ordinances regulating the
29 movement of traffic, to a degree which indicates lack of
30 ability to exercise ordinary and reasonable care in the
31 safe operation of a motor vehicle or disrespect for the
32 traffic laws and the safety of other persons upon the
33 highway;
34 13. not have, through the unlawful operation of a
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1 motor vehicle, caused an accident resulting in the death
2 of any person; and
3 14. not have, within the last 5 years, been
4 adjudged to be afflicted with or suffering from any
5 mental disability or disease.
6 (b) A school bus driver permit shall be valid for a
7 period specified by the Secretary of State as set forth by
8 rule. It shall be renewable upon compliance with subsection
9 (a) of this Section.
10 (c) A school bus driver permit shall contain the
11 holder's driver's license number, name, address, zip code,
12 social security number and date of birth, a brief description
13 of the holder and a space for signature. The Secretary of
14 State may require a suitable photograph of the holder.
15 (d) The employer shall be responsible for conducting a
16 pre-employment interview with prospective school bus driver
17 candidates, distributing school bus driver applications and
18 medical forms to be completed by the applicant, and
19 submitting the applicant's fingerprint cards to the
20 Department of State Police that are required for the criminal
21 background investigations. The employer shall certify in
22 writing to the Secretary of State that all pre-employment
23 conditions have been successfully completed including the
24 successful completion of an Illinois specific criminal
25 background investigation through the Department of State
26 Police and the submission of necessary fingerprints to the
27 Federal Bureau of Investigation for criminal history
28 information available through the Federal Bureau of
29 Investigation system. The applicant shall present the
30 certification to the Secretary of State at the time of
31 submitting the school bus driver permit application.
32 (e) Permits shall initially be provisional upon
33 receiving certification from the employer that all
34 pre-employment conditions have been successfully completed,
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1 and upon successful completion of all training and
2 examination requirements for the classification of the
3 vehicle to be operated, the Secretary of State shall
4 provisionally issue a School Bus Driver Permit. The permit
5 shall remain in a provisional status pending the completion
6 of the Federal Bureau of Investigation's criminal background
7 investigation based upon fingerprinting specimens submitted
8 to the Federal Bureau of Investigation by the Department of
9 State Police. The Federal Bureau of Investigation shall
10 report the findings directly to the Secretary of State. The
11 Secretary of State shall remove the bus driver permit from
12 provisional status upon the applicant's successful completion
13 of the Federal Bureau of Investigation's criminal background
14 investigation.
15 (f) A school bus driver permit holder shall notify the
16 employer and the Secretary of State if he or she is convicted
17 in another state of an offense that would make him or her
18 ineligible for a permit under subsection (a) of this Section.
19 The written notification shall be made within 5 days of the
20 entry of the conviction. Failure of the permit holder to
21 provide the notification is punishable as a petty offense for
22 a first violation and a Class B misdemeanor for a second or
23 subsequent violation.
24 (g) Cancellation; suspension; notice and procedure.
25 (1) The Secretary of State shall cancel a school
26 bus driver permit of an applicant whose criminal
27 background investigation discloses that he or she is not
28 in compliance with the provisions of subsection (a) of
29 this Section.
30 (2) The Secretary of State shall cancel a school
31 bus driver permit when he or she receives notice that the
32 permit holder fails to comply with any provision of this
33 Section or any rule promulgated for the administration of
34 this Section.
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1 (3) The Secretary of State shall cancel a school
2 bus driver permit if the permit holder's restricted
3 commercial or commercial driving privileges are withdrawn
4 or otherwise invalidated.
5 (4) The Secretary of State may not issue a school
6 bus driver permit for a period of 3 years to an applicant
7 who fails to obtain a negative result on a drug test as
8 required in item 6 of subsection (a) of this Section or
9 under federal law.
10 (5) The Secretary of State shall forthwith suspend
11 a school bus driver permit for a period of 3 years upon
12 receiving notice that the holder has failed to obtain a
13 negative result on a drug test as required in item 6 of
14 subsection (a) of this Section or under federal law.
15 The Secretary of State shall notify the State
16 Superintendent of Education and the permit holder's
17 prospective or current employer that the applicant has (1)
18 has failed a criminal background investigation or (2) is no
19 longer eligible for a school bus driver permit; and of the
20 related cancellation of the applicant's provisional school
21 bus driver permit. The cancellation shall remain in effect
22 pending the outcome of a hearing pursuant to Section 2-118
23 of this Code. The scope of the hearing shall be limited to
24 the issuance criteria contained in subsection (a) of this
25 Section. A petition requesting a hearing shall be submitted
26 to the Secretary of State and shall contain the reason the
27 individual feels he or she is entitled to a school bus driver
28 permit. The permit holder's employer shall notify in writing
29 to the Secretary of State that the employer has certified the
30 removal of the offending school bus driver from service prior
31 to the start of that school bus driver's next workshift. An
32 employing school board that fails to remove the offending
33 school bus driver from service is subject to the penalties
34 defined in Section 3-14.23 of the School Code. A school bus
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1 contractor who violates a provision of this Section is
2 subject to the penalties defined in Section 6-106.11.
3 All valid school bus driver permits issued under this
4 Section prior to January 1, 1995, shall remain effective
5 until their expiration date unless otherwise invalidated.
6 (Source: P.A. 91-500, eff. 8-13-99; 92-703, eff. 7-19-02.)